Welcome to the Case Library & Geyer Center for Information Technology

This guide is intended for guests who are not affiliated with Colgate University, but who may wish to make use of Case-Geyer collections, facilities, and/or services. This guide also applies to the Cooley Science Library housed in McGregory Hall.

The mission of the Colgate University Libraries is to seek excellence in its support of the academic curriculum and in establishing a comprehensive intellectual climate by providing convenient, effective access to books and other quality information sources locally and worldwide. Case-Geyer is a private facility reserved primarily for the use of students, faculty, staff, alumnae, trustees, and visiting scholars of the University who, in addition to participants in selected Colgate-affiliated programs, have the privilege of using the Libraries, borrowing materials from its collections, and accessing computer databases and services. Students, faculty, staff, trustees, and visiting scholars may use Interlibrary Loan Services. In addition to the college community, the Library extends visiting borrower privileges to selected guests including members of some local colleges and the local community (restrictions may apply).

The Libraries serve not only Colgate, but also readers from the surrounding communities with some conditions. A responsible adult must supervise all minors under high school age. Minors under high school age who wish to access federal government information should contact the Government Documents Librarian, who will act as the responsible adult (connect to the Government Documents access policy). Users may be asked by staff to show their ID cards. Colgate is not responsible for minors or monitoring their use of materials or equipment or for the inappropriate conduct of any patrons. Anyone found violating Case-Geyer policies or acting in a disruptive manner will be subject to disciplinary action and/or suspension of Library privileges and/or arrest. Case-Geyer gives priority in service to College-affiliated users, and may limit guests' access to selected facilities, collections, and services.

Additional Resources

Guests may also use:

As a U.S. government documents depository, the library is required by federal statute to make its public documents "available for the free use of the general public." Connect to the Government Documents access policy. Most documents are kept in a separate "Government Documents" area, in paper, microfiche, or electronic format. See a Reference or Documents Librarian for help in locating government information.

All guests may use materials stored in LASR (with some restrictions) on site. Those without borrowing priviledges may request items at the circulation desk and will be asked to leave an photo ID as security.

Colgate Libraries online catalog is available without restriction on the Library's homepage. Numerous databases are also available through most are accessible to guests only from campus workstations. A few databases are restricted to Colgate users only due to licensing restrictions. Some databases are freely available from both on and off-campus to all users - e.g. Google Books.

Use of computer labs is restricted to Colgate students, faculty, and staff. Guests may use computers provided for information searching in the Reference areas in the Libraries. However, guests are asked to limit the amount of time using Colgate computers during busy times and may be asked to vacate workstations when needed by members of the university community. Please check the Case-Geyer Computer Use Policy for more information.

Guests may use public networked computer printers located in Reference areas in the Libraries within reason for research purposes. They must request a special Guest Printing Card at the Circulation Desk of either library to be able to print. Undue consumption of University printing resources should be avoided by saving items to disk or flash drive. Guests should review the Printing Policy.

Photocopiers.

Resources in the Special Collections and Archives Department in accordance with that department’s policies. Guests are encouraged to inquire before travelling to Colgate to assure staff are available to provide access.

Services Not Available to Guests

The following services are not available to Library guests:

Extensive use of printing from public access computers

Extensive use of Reference Desk information services

Borrowing materials through interlibrary loan and ConnectNY

Course reserve materials

Specialized workstations and computer software in computer labs.

Access to licensed databases except within the Library

Data restricted by licensing agreements

Certain media materials

Recall of materials checked out by others

Room reservation

Alumni Access to Library Resources

Groups and Tours

Group tours of the library for students of high school age or older may be arranged by calling the Information Literacy Librarian at 315-228-6661 at least four weeks in advance of the intended visit. The library schedules group tours during times that do not conflict with campus academic needs.

Rules of the Case Library & Geyer Center for Information Technology

Colgate University is committed to providing library users with the resources required for research and study in an atmosphere that enhances the pursuit of scholarly activity. Library facilities and services are not available to guests for casual or recreational use. Food is discouraged except in the café on level five and beverages are permitted in secure containers only. Guests who engage in noisy or disruptive behavior or who are using the facilities for purely recreational purposes may be asked to leave. For more information, call the Reference Desk at 315-824-7303.

These policies are periodically reviewed, and are subject to change without prior notice.